Justin Rose: Rory McIlroy hype will help him win Open Championship

Justin Rose believes golfâs new sensation
Rory McIlroy should relish the hype which will accompany him throughout this weekâs Open Championship at Sandwich.

Rory McIlroy enjoyed a record breaking win at the US Open last month (Pic: Getty)

McIlroy has been far and away the biggest story in golf all year, from his four-shot lead and last-round collapse at the US Masters, to his record-breaking triumph in the US Open at Congressional last month.

His manager Chubby Chandler fears âit will be madnessâ at Royal St Georgeâs as the 22-year-old attempts to become theÂ youngest winner of the Claret Jug since 1893, so much so that McIlroy practised on the course last week two days earlier than advised to keep out of the media spotlight.

But Rose, who had a taste of such attention after finishing fourth in the Open as a 17-year-old amateur in 1998, feels McIlroy is better placed to handle all the attention than he was and should not treat it as a burden.

âItâs a great opportunity,â Rose saidÂ yesterday. âTo be coping with that means you have already achieved great things. Itâs a challenge to relish. I was not a seasoned great player. I did not have the skills to rely on that Rory does. He has done it for quite a long time now, he is much better equipped.â

Rose will also hope he himself is better equipped to cope with Sandwich than he was eight years ago, when rounds of 79 and 80 saw him miss the cut by a distance.

âI hope so. I have really been looking forward to coming back,â Rose joked. âI really enjoyed my practice round. It was nice to play it in calm conditions as a sort of baseline. Itâs a big improvement from 2003 in terms of course set-up.

They havenât changed the nature of the course but theyâve made some subtle changes, almost invisible.

âI think the winning total will be under par, but you need to earn your score. Thereâs a lot of trouble. You have to make a lot of putts from 30ft because itâs tough to get it close.â